IT HAS taken plenty of planning and patience but, when their annual weaner steer crop sold to a top of 235c/kg at the Roma store sale on Tuesday, the Flower family was delighted.
Trading as CA Flower and Co, the Flowers offloaded 523 Santa, Hereford and Brangus-cross weaners for an average of 231c/kg at 356kg to return $822/head.
The steers were bred on Garrabarra and Ticehurst, 60km south of Roma, and were prepared on the tail of an oats crop at Callitris North, 50km west of Condamine.
The steers were supplemented with urea-based molasses licks and dry lick.
Cameron Flower was hoping patchy storms in the region in the days before the sale would help boost the market, but said the final price exceeded his expectations.
"I was thinking about 220c/kg would pull them up, so we're pretty happy with how it went," he said.
Mr Flower has retained the heifer portion of his weaners, aged 10 to 14 months, and plans to offer them through the Roma Saleyards in the "near future".
His agent, Duncan McLeod, MAA Roma, said most of the steers were purchased by feedlot buyers, with many repeat buyers involved in the bidding.
"They'll go on feed for the supermarket trade, as well as the premium Japanese market," he said.
"They were a very good quality run of steers. The Flower family has spent good money on good bulls and has been rewarded here today."
A smaller yarding of 3680 head was yarded for Tuesday's sale, and Mr McLeod said the market was generally stronger.
"The steer job was 5 to 10c/kg stronger across the board, although apart from the Flowers', there wasn't a large number of good quality steers yarded," he said.
"We've only really had patchy showers in this area, but it is giving people a bit of heart."
The Flower family has been marketing its weaners through the final store sale at Roma for several years, and now has a strong following for its December sale.
Seasonal conditions were equally as appalling last December when the Flowers struck a 10,000-head yarding for the final Roma store sale of 2013. That day the best of their steers made 199c/kg and averaged 195c or $671/head.
Next Tuesday, Roma agents will host the final Roma store sale for 2014.
Sales will resume on Tuesday, January 13, 2015.